BP to exit Brazil’s Polvo oil field

LONDON — Oil company BP says it is selling its majority stake in Brazil’s Polvo oil field for $135 million in cash to HRT Oil & Gas.

BP gained its 60 percent stake in Polvo from Devon Energy in 2011 as part of a purchase in ten exploration and production blocks. Maersk owns the other 40 percent and the field, located approximately 100 kilometers (60 miles) off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, currently produces about 13,000 barrels of oil a day.

BP said in a statement Monday that the deal with Brazil’s HRT Oil & Gas is expected to close in the second half of 2013, subject to regulatory approvals.

In March, BP announced it was buying back $8 billion of shares using money from the sale of TNK-BP to Rosneft.